•53 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

Chap,...„_„ Copyright No, 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



AND 



GOD'S WAYS AND MEANS 



IN THEM, 



BY 



Rt. Rev. John T. Sullivan. 




PHILADELPHIA, PA.: 
H. L. KILNER & CO. 

PUBLISHERS. 

I8 r TWO COPIES RECEIVED 



Nihil Obstat. 

J. F. LOUGHIvIN, 

Censor Librorum. 



Imprimatur, 

+ P. J. RYAN, 

Archbishop of Philadelphia. 



The Library 
of Congress 



Copyrighted, 1897. 

WASBIJfGTOM 



INTRODUCTION* 



Thb writer has, for a long time, felt that some, 
possibly considerable, good might result from the 
consideration of Conversions viewed in the various 
aspects which they present. Even a merely cursory 
glance at each one awakens necessarily more or 
less profitable thoughts. 

How naturally we feel impelled to felicitate the 
favored one ! What deep gratitude arises spontane- 
ously to the merciful God for His special predilec- 
tion for those to whom He grants this great grace ! 
What becoming admiration of the wondrous work 
of the good God in each conversion, whether the 
individual be lowly or exalted ! 

The influence of conversion is often great and 
widespread. It ought to be, in every case, far more 
so than it usually seems to be. Men will, without 
any effort, think more or less on such occasions. It 
is well to aid them to do so more frequently, more 
earnestly, and for a longer time. 

Such is the aim and purpose which the writer 
has in view in this pamphlet. This he hopes to 
accomplish by leading his readers to a somewhat 
more minute and serious observation of God's 
wonderful action in conversions and man's im- 
portant part. Divine grace is, of course, the 



4 



dominant feature and efficacious agent. Man's 
part is merely correspondence with proffered grace. 

There is no claim to literary merit — no pretense 
to learning. The writer simply narrates facts in 
an off-handed manner ; deduces inferences from 
them ; and seeks to suggest pertinent and practical 
application of such facts and inferences. He im- 
agines that his effort is in a somewhat new field, 
and, consequently, an attractive one, which may 
afford some pleasure to his readers; He hopes that 
some glory may accrue to God and His Holy 
Church. He fervently prays that some of those 
outside of the Church may have their minds 
illumed and their hearts warmed towards the True 
Church. As a final result of his readers' having 
pondered with more than ordinary interest on the 
Saviour's words, "Other sheep I have that are 
not of this fold ; them also I must bring, and they 
shall hear my voice, and there shall be One Fold 
and One Shepherd" (St. John x, 16), he fancies 
that his pamphlet may contribute, in a measure, 
to the realization of the ardent wish and prayer of 
the Great Pastor. 

Of course, he is fully aware of the doctrinal 
truth, "Neither he that planteth is anything, 
nor he that watereth ; but God that giveth the 
increase" (I Cor. iii, 7). 



CONVERSION* 



Conversion to the Catholic faith, besides being 
a great grace and blessing, is a most salutary and 
interesting study ; the means employed by God 
being as various and multiform, as it is possible to 
conceive, and different in the case of each indi- 
vidual in question. There is no monotony — no 
tedium — in following them up from their small 
beginnings to the grand and blessed grace which 
culminates in full conversion. The writer does 
not hesitate to term the process of following up a 
study, for it implies more than a mere noticing of 
the inception — the first grace — and then the grace 
of progress or continuing help, and the crowning 
grace or completion. He means something more, 
namely, a careful attention to the good God's 
ways and means, and man's docile correspondence. 

Among the All-Holy Saviour's means, most, 
undoubtedly, escape our notice entirely. They 
seem to be confined altogether to the subject, or, 
better still, they are known only by God operating 
and the individual on whom God deigns to operate. 
'Tis a ray of that u Kindly Light " flashed upon a 
soul, illuming the intellect. 'Tis an impulse 
bestowed on the will, leading it to follow Kindly 
Light's salutary ray. 'Tis grace's crowning work — 
so quietly, so sweetly, so mysteriously effecting 
the miracle of Divine love and mercy. 



6 



Not only are most of the ways and means used 
by God in effecting conversions hidden, but the 
grace itself with which He favors some in prefer- 
ence to others is beyond our knowledge. If we 
ask why the preference? our answer must ever be : 
God alone, in His good time, will tell. We may 
surmise and assign more or less plausible reasons 
for such surmises. Perhaps God saw in that soul — 
what He alone could see fully — fidelity to the 
demands of the Natural law in the case of such as 
knew only that law. Perhaps, again, in those 
knowing the Divine positive law, He beheld an 
aggregate of worthy dispositions — innocence, 
docility, and good faith. May not the grace of 
conversion be, in countless instances, the result of 
Holy Church's unceasing official prayer for all ; or 
some kind friends' private appeals, &c, &c. — effi- 
cacious interceding which will not be known till 
in eternity ? Whatever may have moved God (I 
speak after a human fashion) to grant the grace, 
every well-instructed Catholic knows that it was a 
pure grace, and that means a gratuitous gift and 
not a reward of merit. 

Though our efforts to arrive at the why of 
one or another conversion may be in vain, they 
will not be entirely useless ; for, whilst thus striv- 
ing, not through idle curiosity, but with laudable 
motives, we may be, imperceptibly, securing 
graces for ourselves. 

Undoubtedly, we may rest assured that the day 
of universal revelation will disclose wonders of 
God's power, wisdom, and mercy in each conver- 
sion, and that, in heaven's blissful realm, a part of 
our worship will be to adore and bless and thank 



7 



God for the countless hidden graces, and among 
them, not the least, the inscrutable grace of 
conversion. 

Let us pass from the unknown and hidden 
ways and means to such as, to an extent, fall under 
our observation. Of even these, it would be out of 
question to notice any large number in a pamphlet 
like this. Were it feasible, it would not be neces- 
sary, or even desirable, as the same important 
lessons which hundreds of cases would teach, may 
be learned from comparatively few. 

Among the ways and means employed by God 
to effect conversions, we confine ourselves to a few 
salient ones. 



INTELLECT. 

God has gifted some with great intellects ; fur- 
nished them with rare opportunities for wonder- 
fully developing their powerful minds ; and uses 
those gigantic minds to lead them to the truth. 
At the same time, He utilizes their signally bright 
examples to exercise an extraordinary influence 
over vast numbers of others, not only of their own 
age, but also over multitudes innumerable, possibly, 
to the end of time. 

CARDINAL JOHN HENRY NEWMAN. 

The foregoing remarks are strikingly seen in 
the case of His Eminence Cardinal Newman, who 
had been reared in the faith of the Church of 
England ; whose more than splendid intellectual 
gifts were developed under renowned Oxford's most 



8 



distinguished teachers ; and whose first years of 
Church ministry were so notably zealous and bril- 
liant in the Church of England. 

His master-mind, his giant intellect, and his 
varied and vast learning — all were made use of by 
God to lead him into the Catholic Church. He 
saw in the Holy Word of God M One L,ord, One 
Faith, and One Baptism." He saw the utter 
futility of any form of Protestant Christianity, not 
excepting his own intensely cherished Church of 
England. 

John Henry Newman was born February 21st, 
1801, graduated in 1820, became Fellow of Oriel 
College in 1822, was ordained Minister of the 
Anglican Church in 1824, appointed Public Exam- 
iner in 1827 an d Vicar of St. Mary's in 1828. In 
1829 h e opposed the re-election of Sir Robert Peel 
as member of the University of Oxford because of 
that statesman" s advocacy of Catholic emancipation. 
In 1830 he was chosen as one of the select Uni- 
versity Preachers. In 1833 ^ e wr °te his work, 
"The Arians of the Fourth Century." 

Meanwhile, the spread in England of German 
anti-dogmatic liberalism gave rise to a strong con- 
servative opposition in the English Church. This 
Dr. Newman joined, with the purpose of forming 
an Anglo-Catholic party. 

About this time the Oxford movement was 
started by Dr. Keble. 

Finding that his associates differed widely as to 
the way of opposing liberalism and neutralizing 
the tendency towards Rome, Dr. Newman began 
the series called u Tracts for the Times," and some 
letters, in the 44 Record," entitled 44 Church Re- 



9 



form." He delivered several lectures on " The 
Prophetical Office of the Church, viewed Rela- 
tively to Romanism and Popular Protestantism. n 
In 1837 his " Essay on Justification n appeared, 
controverting the Lutheran doctrine on that sub- 
ject. The u University Sermons" discuss the 
relation of faith and reason, and investigate the 
ultimate basis of religious belief. His pamphlet 
on the "Real Presence n was published in 1838. 

Dr. Newman defined more and more clearly 
the relative position of Anglicanism and Roman 
Catholicism till his attempt to reconcile the teach- 
ings of the Thirty-Nine Articles culminated 
(February, 1841) in Tract No. 90. This he was 
called upon to retract, but refused. It was in this 
year, too, that he opposed the alliance of the 
Anglican Church with certain Eastern Churches. 

In February, 1843, he made a formal retraction 
of charges which he had uttered against the 
Church of Rome, and in September of the same 
year resigned his office as a clergyman. To his 
house at I^ittlemore he had invited several per- 
sons whose minds were disturbed like his own. 
He busied himself and his associates with u Trans- 
lations from St. Athanasius " and u Lives of the 
English Saints." 

On October 9th, 1846, he was received into the 
Catholic Church. Soon afterwards, he was called 
to Oscott by Dr. Wiseman ; sent to Rome, where he 
was ordained in 1848. He at once established the 
Oratory of St. Philip Neri, in which he remained 
till the end of his life (1890), engaged most of the 
time in writing his various well-nigh matchless 
works. The long list of his writings, even after 



IO 

his conversion to the Catholic faith, abundantly 
attests his marvelous labors as an author, whilst 
the diversified character of his works disclose vast 
and varied learning. It is generally conceded by 
competent judges that he had few equals as a 
master of the English language. 

A list of Cardinal Newman's works may be 
obtained from Catholic publishers. 

How often may he not, in his perplexities on 
the score of religion, have uttered the noble 
prayer of his own beautiful hymn, 44 Lead, Kindly 
Light n ? * Under the benign illumination of that 
earnestly-sought-for 4 4 Kindly Light " he saw that 
not only the inspired word of God, but likewise 
the uniform voice of tradition and of Church his- 
tory, echoed the same 44 One Lord, One Faith, and 
One Baptism" — echoed, too, the 4 4 One Fold n 
under the 44 One Shepherd." 

Great as was his intellect— great as were its 
wonderfully diversified developments, greater still, 
and grander and nobler was the magnanimity with 
which he rose superior to all obstacles — overcame 
all the suggestions of human respect ! Exercising 
his reason and all his marvelous powers as far as 
it was reasonable to do so, he accepted the One 
Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church — became one 
of her honored priests, and was eventually raised 
to the Cardinalship ! 

Truly no one can doubt that Cardinal Newman's 
mighty mind was used by God to compass his con- 
version ! Truly his long and prayerfully con- 
sidered step was well calculated to impress hosts of 



'*■ " Lead, Kindly Light " is given in full at end of this book. 



II 



others, inside and outside of the Church of 
England, and to lead them to bring whatever of 
intellect and learning God had given them to the 
serious study of which Cardinal Newman has left 
so splendid an example. 

Surely, there are many honest souls desirous to 
know the " One Fold n and to range themselves in 
it, under the u One Shepherd. n Yes, there are 
multitudes — worried and weary — unwilling to be 
any longer satisfied with what is aptly termed ' ' frag- 
mentary Christianity. n To such, the writer, in all 
kindness, may presume to suggest the daily invo- 
cation, u Lead, Kindly Light, n or some similar 
prayer ! Why not that of Saul of Tarsus, the 
miraculously converted Apostle of the Gentiles, 
4 ' Lord, what wilt thou have me do ? n (Acts ix, 6), 
or that of holy Samuel, u Speak Lord, for Thy 
servant heareth n (I Kings iii, io)?f 

CARDINAL HENRY EDWARD MANNING. 

All here said in regard to the greatness of Car- 
dinal Newman may be affirmed, with equal force, 
in the case of his illustrious fellow-Episcopalian, 
Cardinal Manning — well-nigh his equal in intellect, 
in vastness of learning, and, probably, more than 
his peer in activity in Apostolic labors and general 
executive and administrative abilities ! May his 
brilliant example, jointly with the all-command- 
ing respect due Dr. Newman, wield a wide and an 
enduring influence. 

. f The account of Cardinals Newman and Manning, as well 
as that of Rev. F. W. Faber and Dr. Orestes A. Brownson, are 
drawn from the " American Cyclopaedia," so favorably known 
and highly prized. 



Cardinal H. E. Manning was born July 15th, 
1808, in England, and educated (a member of the 
Anglican Church) at Harrow and Beliol College, 
Oxford. He graduated in 1830, was selected 
Preacher of the University, and made Rector of 
Lavington and Graff ham in 1834, raised to the 
rank of Archdeacon in 1840. 

Iyike Dr. Newman, he was a man of extraor- 
dinary mind and an admirable writer, whose works, 
very numerous, are, in some respects, as able as 
those of his brother-Cardinal. As a list of them 
can be procured from any of the Catholic pub- 
lishers, it is deemed unnecessary to enumerate 
them in this brief notice. 

In 1851 Rev. Dr. Manning gave up his Angli- 
can preferments and was received into the Catholic 
Church ; went to Rome, and remained there till 
1854. In the year 1857 was ordained by Car- 
dinal Wiseman and appointed Rector of St. Helen's 
and St. Mary's, Bayswater. On the death of Cardi- 
nal Wiseman, in 1865, Manning was appointed 
Archbishop of Westminster and consecrated June 
8th, 1865 ; created Cardinal March, 1875. 

Few episcopates were more active and zealous 
than his. Non-Catholics as well as Catholics 
regarded him as a hero in his peerless labors in the 
cause of temperance, benevolent guilds, and ele- 
mentary education. But above all, and not without 
reason, he is called the saintly Cardinal Manning. 

He was elevated to the Cardinalate by the great 
Pius IX, in recognition of his signal mental and 
moral greatness, and, no doubt, as a reward of his 
extraordinary zeal and conspicuous efficiency as an 
administrator. 



J 3 



In the College of Cardinals — composed of men of 
transcendent minds, great learning, and admiration- 
commanding piety — Cardinal Manning was by no 
means the least noteworthy. His death, which 
occurred in January, 1892, was mourned by all, irre- 
spective of creed. Men the most gifted, certainly 
need not be ashamed to walk in the footsteps of 
such majestic characters as Newman and Manning. 

REV* FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER, 

May we not speak in similar strains of that 
celebrated fellow- convert Rev. F. W. Faber, whose 
fame, in a line of his own, goes hand in hand with 
the just-mentioned great luminaries of the Angli- 
can Church ? Who that has ever read his exquisite 
works — beginning with u All for Jesus n — ever 
failed to be charmed by his deepest spirituality, 
his wondrous learning, and withal his faultless 
and uniquely mellifluent style ? 

Father F. W. Faber was born June 28th, 1814, 
and died September 26th, 1863. He received his 
education in Oxford, became Rector of Elton, and 
filled the position with marked ability till his con- 
version to the Catholic Church on November 17th, 
1845. Before his conversion from Anglicanism he 
had written several able works. His writings after 
his conversion were many indeed, all showing un- 
mistakably his splendid mind, his vast learning, 
but, most of all, his deep and signally attractive 
spirituality. To form any adequate idea of Rev. 
Dr. F. W. Faber' s lovable and noble character, 
and great and varied learning, one must read his 
works, which are admired by non-Catholics as well 



H 

as by those of the Catholic faith. The writer, in 
view of the fact that Faber's works are within the 
comprehension of the great mass of the people, 
considers it useful to name them here : " All for 
Jesus" (1854), " Growth in Holiness " (1855), 
"The Blessed Sacrament " (1856), " The Creator 
and the Creature " (1857), 4 4 The Foot of the Cross 
or the Sorrows of Mary " (1858), " Spiritual Con- 
ferences " (1859), "Bethlehem" (i860), "The 
Precious Blood" (i860), " Notes on Doctrinal and 
Religious Subjects" (1866). 

By the way, it is said that Chancellor Bibb, the 
famous legal light — a non-Catholic, too— who had 
read the " Creator and the Creature," was so 
charmed and impressed with it that he pronounced 
it the noblest work ever penned by man. The 
writer respectfully recommends the reading of 
Rev. Father Faber's " Bethlehem," as it gives a 
wondrously clear idea of the mystery of the Incar- 
nation, so vaguely understood by non-Catholics, 
although fundamental and elucidative of the whole 
of Christianity. 

In his " Bethlehem," Father Faber presents, 
in his own peculiarly attractive way, the soundest 
teachings on the Unity and Trinity of God — the 
assumption of human nature and its union with 
the Divine nature in the one Divine Person — God 
the Son, the second Person of the Adorable 
Trinity. He shows great truths in a way that 
never tires, even when treating of most unfathom- 
able dogmas ; nay, rather charms and enchants 
his readers. The perusal of this admirable book 
will pour a wonderful flood of light on the whole 
economy of our blessed religion. In that hallowed 



1 5 



light, the doctrines of Original Sin, of the Atone- 
ment, of Redemption, of Justification, and of 
Glory will appear in their orthodox realities, and 
many will be more than surprised to find how im- 
perfectly and poorly informed they are on those 
fundamental points of faith. He gradually un- 
folds and sets forth with an Aquinas-like accuracy, 
the great mystery of the Incarnation, and its ante- 
cedent and consequent mysteries. In this work, 
and in others of his writings, vital truths are beau- 
tifully taught — the fact of a divinely established 
Church ; a divinely appointed Ministry; the grand 
Sacrifice ; a merciful dispensation of the Incarna- 
tion's and Redemption's graces by the Divine 
agency of the Seven Sacraments, — the Divine 
instrumentalities by which, as the holy Council of 
Trent says, u All true Justification is either begun, 
or, if already begun, is increased, or, if lost, is 
repaired." 

Truly, nowhere can the true Christian find 
explained in more fascinating, and withal more 
sound, form of words, the grand mystery of the 
Incarnation, with its antecedent, concomitant, and 
consequent doctrines, than in Father Faber's 
u Bethlehem," &c. 

No man can peruse, attejitively, his pages 
without having a clearer, more explicit, and more 
accurate faith. But, better still, that perusal will 
fill and imbue the well-disposed reader with a 
more vivid and firm hope. And, best of all, 
u Bethlehem," &c, will, little by little, warm up 
the Christian heart with sweet, tender, and fervent 
love towards the loving God of the Incarnation. 
His readers find in Faber's pages reasons for inex- 



*6 

pressible shame for having known so little of the 
overwhelmingly consoling mystery of the Incar- 
nation — of Bethlehem, of Nazareth, of the Cenacle, 
of Gethsemane, and of Golgotha. 

To these grand characters why not add a host 
of others — all more or less distinguished for their 
intellectual gifts and known most favorably by 
their writings? Wilberforce, Allies, and the two 
Marshalls are worthy of mention among the bright 
lights who entered the Catholic Church about the 
same time as Newman, Manning, and Faber — each 
an additional instance of God's making use of 
man's intellectual gifts as means towards his con- 
version. All should command respectful atten- 
tion. Their example ought not to be lost sight of 
by those who honestly wish to know the true 
Church of God. 

I ought not to neglect to tell Episcopalians, 
who enjoy the humorous, that they would do 
well to invest a small amount in purchasing 
Dr. Marshall's u Comedy of Convocation." It 
will amuse whilst it enlightens. 

DR. ORESTES A. BROWNSON. 

Another instance, in which God seems to make 
use of man's great intellect as ways and means to 
lead him into the Church, is Dr. Orestes A. Brown- 
son, of our own great Republic. There is not, here, 
any need of a lengthy biographical notice of this 
remarkable man — undoubtedly one of the most 
vigorous intellects of his age. He was born in 
Stockbridge, Vt, September 16th, 1803, and died 
April 17th, 1876. At nineteen years of age he 



*7 



joined the Presbyterian Church. In 1825 ^ e 
became a Universalist and a minister of that 
denomination. About that time he wrote for 
various periodicals. In 1832 he was a member of 
the Unitarian Church and editor of the Boston 
Quarterly Review and of the Democratic Review. 
The writer cannot recall the names of some other 
religious organizations with which he associated 
himself. 

In 1844 he entered the Catholic Church, being 
thoroughly satisfied that her claims to his submis- 
sion were irresistible. Undoubtedly, Dr. Brown- 
son was one of the most wonderful minds of our 
country — perhaps of the nineteenth century. His 
command of his mother-tongue was always admir- 
able for its clearness, terseness, and vigor. His 
wide range of knowledge in the vast domain of 
Literature, History, Philosophy, and Theology was 
simply marvelous. His reasoning powers, his 
skill in the use of logic, command not only the 
respect, but also the admiration of the best 
scholars and of the ablest logicians, both in this 
country and in other lands. It is said that, in the 
line of logic, men of no ordinary calibre were 
known to remark that even when Dr. Brownson 
was certainly wrong on some point, so forcible was 
his reasoning, that it was, at times, hard to find 
the flaw. 

Almost from his entrance into the Catholic 
Church he edited the Brownsort s Quarterly Re- 
view, in which he proved himself an able and 
redoubtable defender of that Church. The splen- 
did talents and diversified learning of Dr. Brown- 
son were displayed, however, in other departments, 



i8 

such as Philosophy, History, Literature, and Polit- 
ical questions of the day. Such being the case, 
Bro7imsori* s Review would surely prove an invalu- 
able addition to the library of any real scholar and 
solid thinker. 

An appreciative public owes a debt of grati- 
tude to his gifted son, who published, after his 
illustrious father's death, an excellent edition of 
the Review and other writings of that eminent 
convert to the Catholic Church. As evidence of 
Dr. Brownson's fame for intellect, learning, and 
ability, it may be mentioned that that most com- 
petent judge of those merits, Dr. John Henry 
Newman (afterwards Cardinal) invited him to 
accept a professorship in the Irish Catholic Univer- 
sity. That compliment and honor, he, of course, 
prized highly ; but preferred to wield his potent 
pen in his loved native land, and did so to the end. 

- God seems to show, in our gifted convert's 
case, that so wonderful an intellect found no rest 
until he entered the Catholic Church, where all 
the vast cravings of his mighty mind and irrepres- 
sible aspirations of his noble heart were satiated ; 
that he could not brook the multiform and ground- 
less vagaries of any form of Protestantism ! To be 
4 4 tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind 
of doctrine, M as St. Paul says to the Ephesians 
(iv, 14), was to his great and sound mind intolerable, 
because opposed to the u Unity of Faith n (verse 13)! 

It is related that after his conversion some of 
Dr. Brownson's friends, referring to his numerous 
changes of religion, playfully remarked, u Where 
will Dr. Brownson jump next?" On hearing 
of the jocose query, the Doctor said : u Tell my 



x 9 



friends that I do not wonder at the amusement 
which my changes of religion cause them ; I 
have this however to say, that I regard it as 
the part of good sense to jump, and to jump 
quickly, wdien one finds himself on an unsafe, 
unstable plank over a fearful abyss. Now I have 
stepped on the solid rock ! Should I, after making 
this statement, do any more jumping feats, I 
welcome the ridicule and even the contempt of 
my fellow-men. " 

To his last breath he remained a most staunch 
Catholic and most valorous defender of that 
Church. Here again, God, besides utilizing, as 
ways and means, Dr. Brownson's great intellectual 
powers, places before the reflecting, honest people 
of this land a radiating beacon-light. Deep and 
earnest thinkers on the vitally important matter 
of religion, may profitably read the Doctor's noble 
defense of the Catholic Church against all assail- 
ants, and his powerful presentation of the Church's 
claims to all men's submission, if they value being in 
the u One Fold " and under the u One Shepherd." 
If the Doctor, occasionally, seemed to lose his 
equable temper at the gross misrepresentations of 
the Catholic Church, we need not be surprised. 
No true and brave man will question one's right 
to defend his mother, by whomsoever maligned. 
The Church he regarded as his mother in the 
spiritual order, and in that order dearer than any 
natural mother. 

Good, great, noble Dr. Orestes A. Brownson 
has gone to receive his reward. ' 4 Everyone, there- 
fore, that shall confess me before men, I will also 
confess before my Father who is in heaven" (St. 



20 



Matt, x, 32) ; but he lives in his undying Review, 
still proclaims the truth, the whole truth and 
nothing but the truth, as taught in the Catholic 
Church ; still dealing trenchant blows to each and 
every assailant of that Church into which God's 
potent grace led him. Bright indeed and sur- 
passingly brilliant must be his crown. <c But they 
that are learned shall shine as the brightness of the 
firmament ; and they that instruct many to justice 
as stars for all eternity "(Daniel xii, 3). 

RIGHT REV- DR. SILLIMAN IVES. 

The writer finds great pleasure in citing, also, 
the case of another able, fearless, and generous 
convert, Rt. Rev. Silliman Ives, D. D., Protestant 
Episcopal Bishop of North Carolina. In the light 
of the high honors bestowed on him by his Church, 
he may well be regarded as a man of far more than 
ordinary mark and ability. In spite of the attrac- 
tions of exalted position, more than comfortable 
home, and numerous well-deserved admirers, doubts 
came to his mind — doubts that he could not shake 
off ! No man of his type and character failed to 
pray and to ask for u Kindly Light's n guidance. 
When it came, it was not to a cowardly soul. It 
came to one so generous as to be ready to make any 
needed sacrifice. He resigned his high office, 
entered the Catholic Church, secured a moderately 
fair support for himself and family (hitherto know- 
ing naught but affluence) as a professor in a 
Catholic college. 

Should any think that Rt. Rev. Dr. Ives did 
not weigh his reasons for the step, and study the 
claims of the Catholic Church to his submission, 



21 



the writer respectfully refers to the illustrious con- 
vert's work : ct Trials of the Mind." It is a book 
which ought to be very interesting, especially to 
members of the Episcopal Church, though it is for 
all likely to be profitable. 

Let these few well-known prominent converts 
suffice as instances in which God made use of great 
intellects as ways and means for their conversion. 
Let their examples have due effect on all outside of 
the Church. 



GREAT MOVEMENTS. 

Another agency, if so it may be called, em- 
ployed by God in the wonderful work of men's 
conversion to the Church, is some great religious 
movement. We all know what is usually termed 
the Oxford Movement ! Quite an array of more or 
less fervent and brilliant men entered on the dis- 
cussion of religious questions, but particularly the 
all-overshadowing one as to what is or where is the 
True Church. What blessings ensued from those 
important discussions ! Besides those directly 
engaged in the vital question, hosts of others fol- 
lowed, reading in magazines, tracts, and news- 
papers everything that appeared on that subject. 
It is not possible to tell how many of the principals 
in the discussion abandoned the Church of Eng- 
land, but it is a well-settled fact that quite a large 
number of the most noted Churchmen quit Protes- 
tantism and embraced the Catholic faith ! 

Still more difficult would it be to give any 
statistics as to the number of the laity, in every 
grade of English society, who bade an adieu to a 



22 



Church which that movement showed them was 
not warranted by the Holy Scriptures and Apos- 
tolic Traditions. The Oxford Movement did much 
more than what followed at the time. Its influence 
goes on throughout the whole world, and will con- 
tinue, probably, for ages ! 

Would to God that, in some form, similar 
agitation could be renewed from time to time, 
especially in the United States, in the genuine 
fervor and zeal which characterized it at the time 
of its wonderful potency and far-reaching influence 
in England. 



AESTHETICS. 

AT other times, in particular cases, the w r ays 
and means of individual conversions are ^Esthetics, 
or the taste for the beautiful. 

The grandeurs of architecture in many Catholic 
churches ; the incomparable Catholic Church cere- 
monial ; the soul-uplifting influence of truly 
sacred music ; the splendid decorations, when 
possible, on great solemnities, and the devotion- 
inspiring aggregate of the services do not fail to 
make a favorable impression on sesthetical non- 
Catholic minds. 

As to architecture, no pains possible are spared, 
no expense is too great to render the church, 
what every Catholic regards as the 4 i House of 
God, n the abiding-place of the Hidden God of 
the Holy Eucharist, the Temple and Throne of our 
Emmanuel, or God with us, as He is in the great 
Sacrament of the Eucharist by the Real Presence. 
If a most majestic temple was deemed necessary 



23 



for the various figurative, typical, and provisional 
sacrifices of the Old Law, how fitly do not Catho- 
lics, in the New Law, when type and figure have 
given way to the wonderful reality — the Eucharistic 
sacrifice, seek to give to their churches beauty and 
splendor and majesty. Well may every Catholic 
say, "I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of Thy 
house and the place where Thy glory dwelleth" 
(Ps. xxv, 8). 

The Ceremonial, when even moderately well 
understood, is eminently calculated to fill with ad- 
miration, and to inspire genuine and most heartfelt 
devotion and adoration. How much more so, when 
the full significance of every part of it is compre- 
hended! How all is merely an imperfect manifes- 
tation of the dispositions of the officiating minister 
and of the assembled, worshiping faithful ! Oh ! 
the writer knows but too well how flippantly cere- 
monies are denounced as mummeries by many, who 
understand not their true sense and significance. 
So, likewise, is it with regard to the special vest- 
ments used in the Catholic services, particularly 
at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Denounced ! 
Ridiculed ! By whom ? Invariably by those who 
know naught of their hallowed antiquity, which, 
alone, might well command respect and reverence ; 
naught of the mystical significance which the 
Church attaches to each item of the vesture em- 
ployed in her services. 

In the ordinary affairs of every-day life, to con- 
demn what one knows little or nothing about is 
properly considered foolish. When things held in 
reverence by the largest body of Christians are 
similarly condemned, it is, besides being foolish, 



24 



also unfair. None who want a measure of infor- 
mation in regard to the ceremonies of the Catholic 
Church need be ignorant on the question, as there 
are several small works in circulation, treating, pro- 
fessedly, on this subject.* 

^Esthetics are, not unfrequently, used by God 
as ways and means for leading to conversion to the 
Catholic Church. The writer has now in his mind 
a most estimable gentleman, who, whilst an earnest 
adherent of a Protestant denomination, happened 
to visit a Catholic Church on some solemn feast. 
He was so deeply impressed by the whole service — 
ceremonies, lights, decorations, and church music — 
that his conversion followed. He was a person of 
very aesthetic taste and general culture, but espe- 
cially fond of music. In a lecture delivered by him, 
on what led him to investigate the claims of the 
Catholic Church, he publicly stated that it was the 
impression made on him by the ceremonies, music, 
&c. , of the Church. 

He is to-day an able and most highly esteemed 
priest of the United States. 



A CIRCUMSTANCE. 

Some years ago Asiatic cholera raged fearfully 
in one of the smaller cities of the United States. 
All seemed panic-stricken — all who could do so 
fled to some point of supposed safety. Among 
those who hurried away were quite a number of 
Protestant ministers who could not well afford to 



"*See advertisement at the end of this pamphlet, " Prayers 
and Ceremonies of the Mass." 



25 



risk losing their lives, as they had families depen- 
dent on them. In that awful day of peril — when 
gaunt pestilence stalked abroad, sweeping away its 
victims by the hundreds, the unmarried Priest 
stood his ground, never dreaming of abandoning 
his post of duty. Do I call this a trifling circum- 
stance? Well, yes, in one sense; namely, because, 
for the Priest, there was no special heroism, merely 
doing his duty, regardless of consequences. But 
that duty was of supreme importance, as it involved 
for him, as the minister of God's Church, the 
administering of great grace-giving Sacraments. 

At all events, not a few became converts to the 
Catholic Church. Some of them recalled the 12th 
and 13th verses of the 10th chapter of the Gospel 
according to St. John. The readers of this pam- 
phlet would do well to peruse and ponder on that 
Scripture. The cowardly flight cannot be excused 
entirely, though an extenuating feature will appear 
later on, when the'conversion of Rev. George F. 
Haskins is related. 



SOME PROMINENT PERSONS. 

At other times, some person of high standing 
in the community — a learned judge, an able lawyer, 
a famous professor, or a man eminent in science or 
literature — embraces the Catholic faith. The non- 
Catholics are surprised. God uses such conver- 
sions to lead others to make salutary reflections. 
These are followed by more or less investigations 
(always supposing the persons desirous to know the 
truth). The result is that the teachings of the 
Catholic Church are examined, and some, at least, 



26 



of that class apply for admission into the Church, 
or the u One Fold" under the u One Shepherd." 
His or her reflections and examinations clearly 
showed one thing, namely, that the Catholic Church 
is not what she had been represented ; showed that 
the representations were made by those who did 
not know her as she really is, and, consequently, 
were not competent to tell others what are her 
doctrines ; that the only safe way is to seek the 
important information at reliable-sources, from her 
clergy, well-informed members, or in approved 
books giving the correct idea of the Church and 
truthfully setting forth her doctrines. In the ex- 
amination, it frequently comes to light that a 
very great many of the erroneous ideas about the 
Church arise, not merely from ignorance, but, 
far worse, possibly, from mean and criminal mis- 
representations. Doctrines are attributed to her 
which she not only does not teach, but abhors 
and anathematizes. The extent of this cowardly 
and calumnious misrepresentation is fearful. It 
looks like conclusive evidence that some people, 
supposed to be highly moral, were (and are) not at 
all sufficiently regardful of at least one command- 
ment : 14 Thou shalt not bear false witness against 
thy neighbor." However, we ought not, perhaps, 
be surprised. May it not be the fulfillment of the 
Divine Founder's prophetic words : 4 4 They will 
put you out of the synagogues ; yea, the hour 
cometh that whosoever killeth you, will think 
that he doth a service to God. And these things 
they will do to you ; because they have not known 
the Father, nor me. But these things I have told 
you, that when the hour of them shall come, you 



27 



may remember that I told you" (St. John 
xvi, 2, 3, 4). 

Though provoked by such calumnies — a real 
persecution — we are able to pray for our enemies, 
and do pray for them : li Father, forgive them, for 
they know not what they do. n As regards these 
calumnies, every well-informed Catholic knows 
that the land is flooded with printed matter of this 
lying kind. It adds a spicy flavor to the penny 
Sunday-school paper, poisoning the minds of the 
young ; it does its malevolent work in the more 
pretentious pages of the Novel, and finds lodgment 
even in the otherwise creditable volumes on Science 
and History. The millions of Tracts, the tens of 
thousands of cheap and trashy Romances, the vast 
array of so-called Church papers of the multiform 
sects — all teem with false and foul slander — gross 
lies about the Catholic Church's doctrines and 
moral teachings. 

One would suppose that this vast machinery of 
calumnious attack would be sufficient to satisfy the 
most malignant enemies of that defamed Church ! 
By no means ! All this is reinforced by a no 
insignificant army of preachers — some ignorant — 
others, probably, malicious — not a few both the 
one and the other — who consider it the popular 
thing to hurl mendacious denunciations against 
the old Church — the Church of Rome. 

As bearing on this statement, the writer finds 
the following in the Catholic News : 4 1 The story 
is told in these parts of an old preacher once being 
asked by a young man commencing his career as 
a preacher, wherein lay the way to success. The 
advice was laconic: 1 Give it to Rome.' It 



28 



remains to be stated that the advice was taken 
and the young man's ministry a success. n 

The calumniators find suitable and more or 
less useful auxiliaries in the foul-mouthed itiner- 
ant defamers of Popes, Bishops, Priests, and hero- 
ically devoted ladies — Nuns ; in fact, of everything 
Catholic. Though a generation has passed since 
the close of our unfortunate Civil War, there still 
remain non- Catholic Boys in Blue and Boys in 
Gray who learned, in days long ago, of the match- 
less philanthropy and maternal and sisterly minis- 
trations of Catholic Sisters in hospitals and on 
battle-fields ! Some of those vile traducers of the 
good Sisters have, now and then, had the misfor- 
tune to find, among their generally prurient hear- 
ers, recipients of the tender care and nursing of 
the Sisters of Charity or some similar gentle angels 
of mercy ! The men who were brave enough, to 
carry a musket were not the cowards to remain 
silent when they heard the mean slanders uttered 
against their gratefully remembered benefactresses ! 

Certainly, the defamers already enumerated 
were more than enough to blacken the fair fame of 
the Catholic Church ! It seems not. A puny but 
decidedly venomous band, called A. P. A., have 
been welcomed, in these later years of this enlight- 
ened Nineteenth Century — in this great Republic — 
to help on, in the dark, the ^/z-American and 
^-Christian work of hate and slander ! Other 
societies, too, there are, having a similar spirit and 
the same purpose ! Verily, before such hosts of 
traducers — before such multiform calumny and 
such persistent vilification — the Grand Old Church 
must succumb ! Far from it. She stands to-day 



2 9 



as fair and vigorous as in the palmiest days of the 
Apostolic or any subsequent age. Yea, more so — 
as the result, no doubt, of the Divine Founder's 
consoling promise and prophecy: u Blessed are ye 
when they shall revile you, and persecute you, 
and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for 
my sake" (St. Matt, v, n). 



A PERTINENT INCIDENT. 

The incident referred to comes to the writer's 
mind quite opportunely. Nearly forty years ago 
it was his good fortune to number among his 
friends a very estimable Presbyterian gentleman 
whom he will call Mr. N. 

The friendship was quite cordial. The two 
met often — not, however, as frequently as they 
both would have wished. One day, on meeting 
Father S., Mr. N. said, u Father, I have some- 
thing to tell you, that will surprise you." 
"Well," replied Father S., " perhaps it may." 

-"Oh! yes," said Mr. N., "it will surely." 
"Let me, then, hear it," said Father S. The 
answer was : "I am reading Catholic doctrines." 
Father S., knowing that his friend was of the 
staunchest and strictest Presbyterianism, acknowl- 
edged his surprise. " My friend," said Father S., 
" what book of Catholic doctrines are you read- 
ing?" "Why," replied Mr. N., "a book 
entitled Catholic Doctrines." Father S. answered, 
U I do not remember any Catholic book of that 
name." Thereupon Mr. N. drew from his pocket 
a i6mo book of about seventy-five pages — handed it 



3° 



to Father S. Lo ! it was a work on Catholic doc- 
trines issued by a Protestant Book Society ! 

As Father S. had to walk about two miles 
along or on a railroad track, to see a sick person, 
he said to his Presbyterian friend, u I would like 
very much to read the little book whilst I walk to 
see the sick person, and coming back." M Cer- 
tainly, with great pleasure," said Mr. N. u You 
may have it." 

By the time Father S. had made his trip to 
and fro, he had read the book through, somewhat 
- carefully, and noted, in pencil, one hundred and 
seventy-nine misrepresentations. The margin 
upon which he wrote was very narrow — no room 
for so long a word as misrepresentation — so he was 
obliged, though reluctantly, to use the short 
Anglo-Saxon word lie, which, in this instance, 
was a fair synonym for misrepresentation. One 
.hundred and seventy-nine lies in seventy-five 1 61110 
pages ! A fair sample of anti-Catholic books ! 

On rejoining his friend, Father S. said : u Mr. 
N., perhaps I have taken an unwarranted liberty 
in putting some pencil notes in your book, and, 
still worse, I have used a term that you may not 
like. Under the circumstances, maybe I had 
better keep the little book, and get you a new one 
from the publishers." u Oh ! no, my good 
Father," said Mr. N., "I am really glad that you 
have called my attention to the falsehoods." 

Just then the train drew near, and the two 
friends had to part, little thinking that they were 
not to meet again. Some time afterwards Mr. N. 
moved West. Months passed without any news 
of or from Mr. N. One day, a member of 



3 1 



Father S.'s little country mission came to the 
city to see him. During the visitor's stay the 
Father said, 44 Mr. B., do you ever hear from our 
friend Mr. N. ? " 4 4 Why! yes, indeed," replied 
Mr. B. 44 I have had several letters." Continuing, 
Mr. B. said, 4 4 Father, you know, of course, that 
shortly after Mr. N. went West, he and his 
family (wife and three or four children) were 
received into the Church." 4 4 Is that so?" said 
Father S., who had not any knowledge of the 
conversions. 

44 Yes, " replied Mr. B. ; 4 4 he wrote me, saying, 
that the notes which you wrote in his book had 
opened his eyes — led to his obtaining instruction 
and being received into the Church." The writer 
does not doubt but thousands upon thousands of 
honest, sincere, non-Catholics would gladly do as 
Mr. N., could they, too, have their eyes opened on 
the wicked misrepresentations of the Catholic- 
Church's teachings — doctrinal and moral ! 



REMARKS. 

In our observations on conversions we must not 
lose sight of the fact that in every case God's grace 
is the efficient agent, all else being man's mere 
correspondence. That must be honest and gen- 
erous ! I say generous, because as a rule, sacrifices 
have to be made and are made. But those sacri- 
fices are eminently reasonable and truly wise, for, 
in every instance, one weighs well the important 
supernatural fact implied in the Divine Redeemer's 
query, 44 What doth it profit a man if he gain the 



32 



whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul " 
- (St. Matt, xvi, 26)? 

One, convinced of the revelation, u One Lord, 
One Faith, One Baptism" (Eph. iv, 5), made by 
the Saviour of mankind, is led to most serious 
thoughts at the rapidly growing disintegration of 
faith — if such it may be called — in every denom- 
ination of Protestantism. Multitudes of sects, 
ever increasing in numbers, each claiming to be 
the Church of God, whilst the Word of God tells 
us of only " One Fold and One Shepherd" 
(St. John x, 16). 

This thought leads to queries : When will this 
lethal disintegration cease ? Whither does it neces- 
sarily lead ? Where will it end ? Is there not 
something grandly opportune in the Sovereign 
Pontiff's masterly and tender appeal for Christian 
unity ? 

Another is satisfied from even a cursory reading 
of the Divine word, that, in the economy of the 
Redemption, Christ not only paid the ransom by 
His sufferings — the outpouring of His blood, and 
His death on Calvary's Hill — but really established 
His Church — left a Ministry by Him chosen : 
u You have not chosen me ; but I have chosen 
you and have appointed you . . . " (St. John 
xv, 16); by Him sent: u that you should go" 
{ibidem) ; and again : 4 1 Going therefore, teach ye 
all nations" (St. Matt, xxviii, 19). 

The fact stands out boldly and unmistakably, 
that His Ministry has, to the end of time, a two- 
fold work : first, to announce the glad tidings of 
salvation, " teaching them (all nations) to observe 
all things whatsoever I have commanded you" 



33 



(St. Matt, xxviii, 19); second, to do the work of 
dispensing the multiform graces of His Redemp- 
tion, u Let a man so account of us as of the min- 
isters of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries 
of God n (I Cor. iv, 1) ; a Ministry empowered to 
offer sacrifice, 1 c And taking bread, He gave 
thanks and brake and gave to them saying, This 
is my body which is given for you. Do this for 
a commemoration of me" (St. Luke xxii, 19; 
I Cor. xi, 24, 25) ; Ministry to administer the 
great grace-giving Sacraments of the New Law. 



A MEDICAL DOCTOR. 

It is apparent that His Ministry must teach 
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth. No sensible man can question this. 

Here the writer recalls the conversion of a very 
respectable and intelligent physician, who was led 
to the Church by the idea of the whole truth. He 
met in his readings the expression, u Catholicity 
is the totality of verities. Protestantism is frag- 
mentary Christianity. n 

The worthy medical doctor seemed to have 
been led, by an apparently trifling circumstance — 
his fondness for what are called big words — to 
realize the important fact that outside of the 
Catholic Church there is no adequate Ministry of 
the Word — of the whole truth, Of course, the 
Divine Ministry has, too, as a co-ordinate part of 
its appointed work, the teaching of the whole 
Moral Law, which is to regulate our every thought, 
word, and action — our entire lives. 



34 



REV. GEORGE R HASKINS- 

Another distinguished individual obtained the 
grace of conversion by the realization of a fact, 
namely, that outside of the One True Church 
there is to be found no Ministry of grace-imparting 
Sacraments. 

This extraordinary man was Rev. George F. 
Haskins, of New England. He was born in Bos- 
ton, April 4th, 1806 ; was a firm adherent of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, a student of Harvard 
University, and an ordained minister of the above- 
named denomination. That office he resigned into 
the hands of Bishop Griswold on January, 1839. 

The writer knows no more fitting way to tell 
of what led Rev. Mr. Haskins to withdraw from 
the Episcopal ministry (so-called) than his own 
words, which he finds in a work entitled u Glimpses 
of the Brotherhood of Charity, n published in Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

He says : u I shall never forget an old Catholic 
woman, in Providence, that shut up my mouth 
one evening. One of her family was a Protestant 
and a member of my parish. I called to see him, 
as was my custom, and began extolling the Epis- 
copal Church, and exhorting him to frequent the 
Sacraments ; but I had better be a league off, for, 
in the midst of a most eloquent sentence, when 
talking of Apostolic Succession, and the Bread 
of life, and the Body of our Lord, &c. , an aged 
woman, that I had scarcely beheld before, who 
was sitting on a stool in the chimney corner, lifted 
up her trembling voice and gave me such a ter- 
rible dressing that I wished myself anywhere else. 



35 



4 What ! ' said she, 4 you talk about Apostolic Suc- 
cession ! And where is your succession ? Who 
ordained you and your bishop and the first bishop 
of your Church ? If the Catholic Church, then 
you have shown yourselves, by your rebellion 
and ingratitude, the disgrace of your mother and 
unworthy of her. If not the Catholic Church, 
then you are usurpers and impostors, and lead 
astray your flocks, and you will have to answer for 
their souls. Sacraments ! Where are your Sacra- 
ments? Where your right to administer them?' 
&c, &c. 

44 I was dumb and could not answer. I stam- 
mered out something, however, and retired, and 
soon after I resigned my charge and retired from 
the duties of a parish, and, though often solicited, 
never accepted another. ' ' 

These words of Rev. George F. Haskins — so 
fraught with matter for most serious thought for all 
outside the ' 'One Fold" — not under the 4 'One 
Shepherd" — the readers of this pamphlet and all 
who dehide themselves with the idea that they are 
of God's Church — that their church has Apostolic 
Succession — in reality, a divinely appointed Min- 
istry — are respectfully invited to weigh well and 
often. 

The writer considers as germane to the subject 
another incident generally known, though not 
mentioned in the brief notice of the life of Rev. 
George F. Haskins in the "Glimpses of the 
Brotherhood of Charity. ' ' 

It is related that whilst discharging his duties 
as an Episcopal minister, Rev. Mr. Haskins was 
paying daily, or almost daily, visits to a most 



36 



estimable lady — a member of his flock — who was 
dangerously ill. Each time that he arrived at the 
invalid's residence, he was met at the door by the 
portress — a chambermaid — who was a Catholic. 
With the true instincts of a gentleman, he always 
had a pleasant and kindly word for the lowly 
young employe in question. Of her he usually 
asked how her mistress was. Soon he discovered 
that Miss A. was exceedingly devoted to her mis- 
tress and felt painfully anxious about her. This 
became more and more evident to him when, each 
time he came down from the sick-room, she wanted 
to know what he thought of her mistress' condi- 
tion. At last, one day, on being asked as usual; 
he replied : U I am sorry, Miss A., to tell you 
that your mistress will be with you only a very 
short time ! She cannot live more than a few 
days." u Oh ! my ! " exclaimed the devoted girl. 

u Doctor," said she, ' 4 have you prepared her 
for a good and holy and happy death?" 4 4 Oh ! 
yes, Miss ; I have done all for her that the Church 
prescribes in such cases." 11 Doctor, " asked the 
grief-stricken domestic, u what have you done for 
her to prepare her, at this awful hour of death ? " 
In reply, the Rev. Mr. Haskins said: u I spoke 
to her a great deal about spiritual things — the 
affairs of the soul and of eternity. I said many 
prayers with her and for her, and sang some 
religious hymns." * 

* Prior to the Oxford Movement, 1833, the Anglican Church 
did not so strongly claim a Priesthood as later. The doctrine 
of the Body and Blood of Christ was a mere commemoration 
(see third note in " Communion of the Sick," Common Prayer). 
Even such as the Communion was, said authoritative work 
clearly shows that it was not deemed important for the sick. 



37 



"Oh ! Doctor," replied Miss A., 44 is that all 
you did for my dear mistress? " 14 Yes, Miss ; and 
I think she is well prepared and ready to meet her 
God," answered he. 4 4 But, Doctor, please pardon 
me for saying to you that / — nothing but a poor 
hired girl — could do all that you did ! I could say 
prayers with her and for her, and I have done so 
most fervently, because I love her dearly. I could 
speak to her about spiritual things — loving God — 
the goodness of God — and being sorry for her sins. 
I could also, Doctor, sing religious hymns for her, 
and would be only too glad to sing any ones she 
would like to have sung." 

The Rev. Mr. Haskins acknowledged that he 
was nonplussed. He revolved the one thought, 
of a poor, unauthorized layman — even a lowly 
domestic — being, in reality, able to do all that 
he, a minister of the Church of Christ, could do ! 

Then he said to her, u Miss A., what more 
could your Church do?" u Oh! Doctor, my 
Church would not have any objection to all you 
have done for my mistress, but it would be a very 
small part, indeed, of the Catholic Priest's work 
of preparing one to appear before the great 
Judge!" 44 Well, Miss," said Rev. Mr. Haskins, 
44 what would your Church do in such an all- 
important moment as that of fast-approaching 
death?" 4 'Why, Doctor," answered the young 
woman, 4 4 the dying person would make sacra- 
mental Confession and be excited to true contri- 
tion for every sin — great and small, — then be 
absolved by the Priest having the power to forgive 
sins. Doctor, you know that our Lord left that 
blessed and consoling power to His Church, as 



38 



we see in St. John's Gospel ; I think it is the 
23d verse of the 20th chapter. 

u After that, the Catholic Priest would give the 
dying person the Holy Communion — the Sacra- 
ment of the most sacred Body and Blood of our 
Lord. You certainly know, Doctor, that my Church 
holds the doctrine of the Real Presence ; and that 
the Priest is the Minister of that greatest of all the 
Sacraments ; and that, of all times, that of the near 
approach of death, is the one on which such a Sac- 
rament — with its wondrous graces — is most needed. 

u You know that it is a pledge — a special 
pledge of union with our Lord, who says, 4 He that 
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in 
me and I in him ' (St. John vi, 57) — a pledge, too, 
of everlasting life and of a glorious resurrection, 
4 He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood 
hath everlasting life and I will raise him up in the 
last day ' (St. John vi, 55). 

4 4 Besides, Doctor, the Catholic Priest would, 
also, administer the great Sacrament of Extreme 
Unction, whose special grace is to prepare the 
departing one to die a holy and happy death 
(St. James' Epistle v, 14, 15). 

4 4 These, Doctor, are the chief things, prepar- 
atory to death, which my Church has the Priest do. 
These are the divinely instituted means employed 
by divinely appointed Ministers. Apart from them, 
our prayers (which may be said by anyone) are so 
beautiful, though not of divine institution like the 
Sacraments, so well calculated to awaken in the 
hearts of the dying the best dispositions. These 
prayers are within the reach of all, being found in 
our large prayer-books." 



39 



At this point the Rev. Mr. Haskins took leave 
of the Catholic domestic. God's work, however, 
did not stop here. He could not shake off the one 
worrying thought, that he — duly exercising the 
ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church — w T as 
unable to do anything more than a mere female 
domestic, for the dying. Powerless to absolve ; 
powerless, then, to administer the Holy Eucharist; 
powerless to anoint ; powerless in everything 
except what a mere layman could do ! 

Why is this? he asked himself. The only 
answer he could give or find was, my Church is 
wanting in a Divine Ministry— wanting in the 
essential point of a real (Divine) Mission from God. 
M How then shall they call on Him, in whom they 
have not believed ? or how shall they believe Him 
of whom they have not heard ? And how shall they 
hear without a preacher? And how shall they 
preach unless they be sent" (Romans x, 14, 15). 
Why ? he again asked himself. Because my 
Church is devoid of a Ministry duly appointed and 
ordained to administer Sacraments instituted to 
impart great and special graces — my Church is 
devoid of a real Priesthood for the oblation of the 
marvelous Sacrifice so vividly foretold by the 
Prophet Malachias, "From the rising of the sun, 
even to the going down, my name is great among 
the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, 
and there is offered to my name a clean oblation n 
(Mai. i, 11). Such is my Church ; such is my 
deplorable situation. 

These, and similar reflections, were so many 
graces given him — illuming his understanding, 
impelling his will, and leading, eventually, to his 



4o 



conversion. Being docile to grace, he accepted the 
light and yielded to the heaven-imparted impulse. 
He resolved never more to officiate as a minister of 
so void and powerless a church — or so-called a 
church — as it then appeared to him. This case is, 
in very truth, a beautiful instance of compliance 
with the injunction of the 8th verse of the 
94th Psalm, " To-day if you hear His voice, 
harden not your hearts. " 

His was a most edifying exhibition of magnan- 
imous honesty- — leading him to make any sacrifices 
rather than go against his convictions ! 

No doubt, in a worldly point of view, he had 
to make great sacrifices : an easy and pleasant 
berth had to be given up ; ties of the tenderest 
sort, namely, those between the urbane and accom- 
plished pastor and his admiring and loving flock, 
must be severed ; the warmest friends must, per- 
haps, be parted with, and, possibly, his step of 
entering the Catholic Church attributed to un- 
worthy motives. 

In his case we have, truly, a remarkable evi- 
dence of the apparently trifling things that God 
uses as His ways and means in conversion. 

Surely, the most salutary lessons are given the 
whole non-Catholic people. How can the non- 
Catholic minister of honest and docile heart help 
having thoughts more or less like those that agi- 
tated the minds of the learned Rt. Rev. Dr. Ives, 
Protestant Episcopal Bishop of North Carolina, and 
the cultured and suave Rev. George F. Haskins ? 

What an influence should not such examples, 
and many more of the same kind, have on the 
millions of honest and even magnanimous laymen ! 



4i 



The Rev. Mr. Haskins performed his last offi- 
cial act as an Episcopal minister in 1837, and 
shortly after his conversion called on the Rt. Rev. 
Bishop (Catholic) of Boston, to see if that digni- 
tary would encourage him to study for the Priest- 
hood. He was kindly told to proceed slondy and 
cautiously — to take, at least, some months to think 
the matter over. Such advice having been com- 
plied with, he presented himself again to the 
Bishop, who told him to enter, at once, on the 
preparation of study, &c. He was ordained Priest 
in 1844, and filled several important positions. 
During his eminently fruitful and edifying minis- 
trations as a Priest, he established the u House of 
the Guardian Angel n — a home for orphan boys ; 
built it up to its present large usefulness ; watched 
over its interests with consummate zeal and love 
till his death, October 5th, 1872. God alone can 
tell and measure adequately the extent of the good 
accomplished by this noble convert in the one 
work of the u House of the Guardian Angel," 
85 Vernon Street, Boston, Mass. His great work 
still lives — managed by the Brothers of Charity. 
Its range of usefulness depends, almost entirely, 
on private benefactions — there being, I think, no 
endowments. Its future extension and prosperity 
will be in proportion as kind and charitable per- 
sons remember it when disposing of their worldly 
goods. To incite as many as possible to lend a 
helping hand, the writer cheerfully calls attention 
to the u House of the Guardian Angel, n and rec- 
ommends the reading of the " Glimpses of the 
Brotherhood of Charity." 



42 



A LADY'S CONVERSION. 

The writer will close his comments on partic- 
ular conversions with that of a lady, who, in point 
of social standing, fine education, remarkable 
mental gifts — a member, of the most devoted type, 
of the Episcopal Church — was, he thinks, most 
noteworthy. 

She was, without doubt, one of the best- 
informed members of that Church — a fearless and 
able defender of its most valued claims, namely, 
Apostolic Succession and Valid Orders or Ministry. 
All this the sequel will abundantly show. Some 
thirty years ago she lost her husband — an officer 
in the U. S. Regular Army. When overwhelmed 
with that domestic affliction, a relative of hers — 
himself a convert from Quakerism — invited her to 
spend some time with his family. The invitation 
was accepted. Shortly after her arrival, a supper 
was given ; a few friends of the family were 
invited, and among them the Pastor of the Cath- 
olic congregation and another Rev. Father. By 
the merest accident, if accident such Providential 
things can be called, the Pastor and the lady in 
question sat near each other in the parlor before 
the supper. 

She had never met a Catholic Priest, and may 
not have fancied his company. At all events, the 
Rev. Father soon noticed that she was embarrassed. 
For that reason he avoided any conversation of a 
religious or controversial character. Feeling con- 
vinced that the lady would be more at her ease 
with any other of the guests than with himself, he 
resolved that her preference should be considered 



43 



at the supper. To his great disappointment, how- 
ever, he was assigned his place at the host's right 
hand, near the head of the table, and the lady at 
his left, directly opposite the Rev. guest. 

Again his Reverence felt that the situation was 
embarrassing. In fact, he had very good reasons 
for thinking so, as conversation seemed to flag, and 
was, generally, rather monosyllabic. Once more 
he hoped that, on the return to the parlor, Mrs. N. 
would be thrown with company more acceptable or 
congenial to her ; but, again, he was at fault, for 
on arriving at the parlor, there were only two seats, 
adjoining, left — one for the lady and the other for 
himself. As far as in his power he eschewed 
religious topics ; but, at last, the conversation 
drifted to her favorite subject — the Episcopal 
Church. That, then, was the sole topic for about 
three hours, or until the entertainment of the 
evening ended. Mrs. N. proved herself a redoubt- 
able defender of her Church — was superbly 
equipped with historical knowledge regarding its 
beginning, progress, and actual status. She was, 
especially, unusually well informed on the question 
of Anglican Orders. 

The Rev. Father has never hesitated to admit 
that he would have found it hard to hold his own 
or controvert her statements, were it not for his 
good fortune of having read, about that time, 
Canon Estcourt's great work on the subject. The 
pleasant evening closed, the guests retired, the 
Priest fully satisfied that a more honest and con- 
scientious non-Catholic did not live. He hoped 
that the learned Canon's invincible arguments 
might lead her to study the matter afterwards. It 



44 



was evident to him, that were her convictions in 
regard to the Church of England's Orders over- 
turned, she would not, or could not — considering 
her sincerity — remain outside the Catholic Church. 

To his great surprise and gratification she called 
on him the next day, and asked admission into the 
Church. To that request the Rev. Father said : 
u Oh ! Mrs. N., what does this mean? Why ! only 
last night you made such a splendid fight for your 
Church ! n She replied : "I am a Catholic. My 
Church, I see, has not the two things which held 
me in it — Apostolic Succession and Valid Orders." 
u But, n said the Priest, u perhaps it would be 
better to think the matter over. n u No, ' ' answered 
she, "the all-important points are settled, forever, 
to my mind. To go against my convictions would 
be mean or dishonorable. I want to be instructed 
as soon as you can make it convenient." 

The instruction was begun the next day — did 
not require much time, as she was quick to learn. 
She was received into the Catholic Church — is still 
living, as firm in her faith as she is noble and 
heroic in the practice of Christian virtues — regarded 
by all, who know her, as one upon whose venerable 
brow are already accumulating the radiant glories 
of a blissful immortality — in the Beatific Vision. 

Oh ! the trifling things which the good God 
uses as His ways and means — the domestic afflic- 
tion — the invitation — the accidental meeting with 
a Priest — and the fortunate circumstance in regard 
to Canon Estcourt's work ! Trifling ! No ; rather 
all evidences of a Divine Providence by which a 
wonderful conversion is effected ! 

How opportune the mention of this conversion, 



45 



which hinged entirely on a vital question — Valid 
Orders ! It is only a short time since the present 
illustrious Pontiff, Leo XIII, after the matures! 
examination of the whole subject, decided that 
Anglican Orders are invalid ! 

It is only a few weeks since the great lumina- 
ries of the Church of England issued their lame 
and vulnerable reply to the exhaustive Letter of 
Leo XIII. 



APPOSITE REFLECTIONS. 

So much for God's ways and means in the 
wonderful and blessed work of some fezv of the 
more notable conversions, and of incidents con- 
nected with them. I say few, because such con- 
spicuous ones as three or four w 7 ho became Arch- 
bishops, and eight or nine Bishops of ' the Church 
in these States, and the goodly number who offici- 
ated or now officiate and labor as Priests, are nec- 
essarily pretermitted, both on account of want of 
space and because the writer knows almost nothing 
of their conversion, or, rather, of the circum- 
stances attending them. Truly, God's ways are 
surprising to us ! We feel, at all events, like ex- 
claiming, with the Apostle of the Gentiles, u The 
weak things of the world hath God chosen, that 
He may confound the strong" (I Cor. i, 27). 

In this broad land and throughout the whole 
world, this century has its glorious galaxy of emi- 
nent converts in the higher walks of society- — 
churchmen and civilians — scholars and scientists — 
men of greatest note ! 



4 6 



In the case of science, it would seem as if God 
used the very vagaries of would-be scientists to 
lead men of true science to the knowledge of His 
Holy Church, though the apparent purpose of said 
so-called scientists would seem to be to undermine 
the Church and her teachings. In the case of 
some churchmen, the very assaults made from 
some supposed Christian pulpits, on the word of 
God, has led sincere ministers to look to the Grand 
Old Church— " The Pillar and Ground of Truth n 
(I Timothy iii, 15) — as the only reliable bulwark 
against the fearful inroads of Rationalism, Skep- 
ticism, and Infidelity in some or all the multitu- 
dinous forms of Protestantism. They see in her, 
also, the only unfailing safeguard of the whole 
social fabric ! 



INCONSPICUOUS CONVERSIONS. 

Though the conversions of notable persons 
attract more attention, and, in that way, do special 
good, being, as it were, great beacon-lights, seen 
far and near — those in the humble walks of life are 
no less wonderful in God's ways and means — no 
less replete with salutary instructions ; yea, in some 
instances, of far more potent and widespread influ- 
ence. This may, at first thought, appear strange 
and incredible. It will cease to be so when we 
advert to the fact that this class of conversions is 
more numerous. They are found everywhere 
throughout the whole world, and their numbers 
are growing with consoling rapidity. Even here, 
in the States, a very low estimate of the number 



47 



of conversions in one year is put at thirty thou- 
sand. 

Thirty thousand cases, wielding a quiet, but 
sure, though circumscribed, influence ! The great 
day of full revelation will alone disclose the vast- 
ness of the good done by those less noteworthy 
conversions. It will be made evident what light 
and strength and impulse such examples imparted. 
Each one in his or her circle, however restricted, 
exercises more or less influence. Imagine, then, 
that of so large a number, especially as our con- 
verts are, thank God, generally very zealous. 
Realizing as they do the incomparable greatness of 
their own blessing of conversion, it is quite natural 
that they would be desirous to secure for as many 
others as possible the happiness which they prize 
so highly. Converts among the rank and file of 
the people should, first of all, by good example, 
show their non-Catholic relatives, friends, and 
neighbors what a good Catholic is in reality. 
Their zeal should be prudent and not unneces- 
sarily obtrusive. Every good opportunity to lead 
to the knowledge of Truth should be judiciously 
used. Converts who expect to aid their non- 
Catholic friends to come into the Church of God, 
should, besides, inform themselves as fully as pos- 
sible of the tenets of the Church and acquire con- 
siderable knowledge of the hackneyed misrepre- 
sentations of the Church, so as to be able to give a 
good and convincing reason of their Faith, and to 
refute the manifold — oft-answered — lying charges. 
When converts do not feel competent to do much 
in this line, they can, at least, help very materially 
by placing suitable books, pamphlets, &c. , in their 



4 8 



friends' hands, and also by inducing them to call on 
the Priest. 

Even, in a less active way, how immeasurable 
the good done by the consolingly large army of 
converts ! For example, in a particular locality, 
one embraces the Catholic faith. Without effort, 
nay, unavoidably and imperceptibly, others around 
begin to think more or less seriously ; then, if this 
is continued, questions will present themselves : 
Mr. So-and-So, who has entered the Catholic 
Church, is, we all know, an intelligent, or, as they 
say, a level-headed man. Can we doubt his sin- 
cerity ? He must have found that the Catholic 
Church is not the bugbear represented to us. No 
doubt he found out what the Catholic Church is in 
truth. Would it not be well for us to inquire ? Is 
not the religious question a matter of paramount 
importance ? These, and so many similar 
thoughts, come quite naturally. Again, some will, 
to themselves, say : Is there not, in his or her con- 
version, a good and strong reason for us to look 
into the claims of that Church ? Should she be 
right, what of our particular denomination, which 
does not teach all the doctrines taught by that old 
and first Church? What about our Ministry? Is 
it a God-appointed one? "I have chosen you n 
(St. John xv, 1 6). Is it God-sent? u Going, there- 
fore, teach ye" (St. Matt, xxviii, 16). Is it a 
Ministry of dispensers of the mysteries of God ? 
(I Cor. iv, i) — of great, because divine Sacraments 
for the imparting of special, most important, and 
indispensable graces. 



49 



APPEAL, 

Oh ! ye vast multitudes, whose honest hearts 
God sees and blesses, do you not often put these 
questions to yourselves ? It is not well — it is not 
wise, to banish recklessly grace-fraught questions 
(Prov. i, 24). 

This pamphlet would fall seriously short in 
its purpose were it to neglect to emphasize two 
vital points, namely: (1) The duty of all to 
accept God's revealed Truth in its entirety. 
(2) The duty, also incumbent on all who are in 
what is called good faith, to rid themselves of 
vincible ignorance, should it supervene. 

On the first point, it should be well understood 
that religions iiidifference, in any form, is a deplor- 
able evil — in direct opposition to the purpose of 
divine revelation— consequently, to the will and 
mandate of God. All in that line is, therefore, 
reprehensible ; and the silly idea — not to term it 
any more harshly — that one religion is as good as 
another, or that it matters little what one believes, 
provided one is moral and honorable, is absurd and 
untenable by men who acknowledge God's author- 
ity and recognize His will as disclosed in revela- 
tion. Hence, they err egregiously who imagine 
that the acceptance of revealed religion, of of the 
One Faith — the belief in the One Fold under the 
One Shepherd — is merely a wish or a prayer of 
the Saviour, and only a counsel — not a mandate. 
There is nothing optional in the matter. u He 
that believeth not, shall be condemned " (St. Mark 
xvi, 16). 

On the second point, it should be borne in 



50 

mind that when we speak of persons in good faith, 
we mean such as are invincibly ignorant of the 
claim of the Church to be the sole True Church — 
the One Fold under the One Shepherd — but are, 
at the same time, so disposed that if they knew, 
they would readily submit to her. Invincibly 
means that they are powerless, morally speaking, 
to obtain satisfactory evidence of the Church's 
being the One True Church. In such case there 
is no culpability, for no one is bound to do what is 
impossible or beyond his power. 

But all ignorance in this grave matter is not 
invincible. There is, and it will appear on Judg- 
ment Day, another ignorance, which is called 
vincible, or which the party can, by reasonable 
effort, overcome and thus reach the truth. Now, 
when the ignorance ceases to be invincible, 
and becomes vincible, it is culpable not to 
.use all reasonable means to inform one's self. 
The degree of culpability will, of course, be in 
proportion to the extent of the neglect. Of that, 
God alone can and will judge. He will punish 
accordingly. Whilst leaving final judgment to 
God, u for the Lord searcheth all hearts and 
understandeth all the thoughts of the minds" 
(I Par. . xxviii, 9), we may fear that many have 
opportunities to know the True Church, but 
neglect to use them, either through sloth, or 
human respect, or unwillingness to be led by the 
u Kindly Light " or the proffered grace. 

These, surely, are not in good faith ! 

The writer has no little knowledge of the good- 
will, honesty, and courage of multitudes outside 
the Church. Although he realizes that religious 



indifference prevails to a fearful extent, he still 
believes that legion is the name of those who are 
not indifferent, but deeply in earnest. All they 
seem to need (grace, of course, being always neces- 
sary) is a thorough conviction of that Faith without 
which it is impossible to please God (Heb. xi, 6) — 
of that True Church — the One Fold and the One 
Shepherd. There is no escape from criminal neg- 
lect, when once fully satisfied that without the One 
Faith there is no salvation, "He that believeth 
. . . shall be saved and he that believeth not shall 
be condemned" (St. Mark xvi, 16) — once con- 
vinced that that Faith cannot, possibly, be to 
believe just as much as one pleases to accept, and 
reject all else — that the One Faith cannot be the 
special tenets of this or that denomination, no 
matter how respectable the so-called church, but to 
believe the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 
the truth, as presented by that Church to which 
the commission was given by the Saviour, long 
before the Reformation — to which an abiding pro- 
tection was guaranteed to the end of time, u And 
behold / am with yon all days, even to the consum- 
mation of the world" (St. Matt, xxviii, 20). One 
cannot fail to see that that guarantee is assured 
to the Saviour's Church. 

With it, was it possible for the Old Church to 
err in faith or moral teachings ? Ordinary common- 
sense must answer most emphatically, and a thou- 
sand times — No ! 

Justice demands — charity, surely, dictates — 
that we admit that there are innumerable honest 
hearts and brave souls outside of the Church — 
some in almost every community — who would 



52 



not be deterred by human respect or other un- 
worthy reasons from seeking admittance, more or 
less speedily, into her fold. 

They need grace! To secure it, they need 
prayer, and that is of the first importance — essen- 
tial ! Consoling, indeed, it must be to them that 
they are not alone in their appeals. The Church 
of the Living God unceasingly prays for them, 
having the same thoughts in regard to their con- 
version that her Divine Pounder has: ' 'Other 
sheep I have that are not of this fold, them also I 
must bring, and they shall hear my voice and there 
shall be One Fold and One Shepherd ; " the great 
army of converts of all nations, and tribes, and 
tongues — from the most notable to the most ob- 
scure — are praying for them and encouraging them 
by their examples, more eloquent than words. 



MISSIONS FOR NON-CATHOLICS. 

A SHRKWDKR— more business-like people than 
the American cannot be found the world over, 
when it is question of dollars and cents — of worldly 
affairs. Why may not that shrewdness and busi- 
ness tact be used in the u one thing necessary " 
(St. Luke x, 42) ? Boundless and most heartfelt 
thanks to God, in our day, and in this great coun- 
try of ours, the Most Rev. and Rt. Rev. Ordinaries 
of the Church have set to work, extending a help- 
ing hand to non-Catholics, by inaugurating in the 
different dioceses a plan by which Priests are 
assigned to the labor of enlightening those who 
love not the divinely commissioned Church, more 



53 



because they know her not than for any other 
cause. * 

It is a pity that this great and most salutary 
means was not adopted long before. However, far, 
indeed, is it from the writer's thought to find fault 
with those in authority, as he knows that even now, 
when the number of Priests has grown largely, the 
Chief Pastors find it so hard to spare some for this 
special line of work, so near to the Sacred Heart 
of the Divine Saviour. 

Every age has its dominant feature. Ours is 
one of boundless activities ! Wonderful progress 
in the material order ! How amazing the advances 
in Astronomy, Chemistry, and Machinery ! How 
dazzling the discoveries in Electricity ! How ben- 
eficial its applications to the wants and comforts of 
man ! In all these things the nineteenth century 
is without a peer ! 

Would to God that one of the dominant features 
of the Catholic Church, in this wonderful age, 
were, in this land and throughout the whole world, 
a most far-reaching, a most earnest, and a most 
active zeal for the conversion of our cherished non- 
Catholic fellow-citizens ! 

Should not the grand and towering zeal of the 
glorious Sovereign Pontiff now happily reigning 
impel us to it? Is there not a specially bright 
halo thrown around the evening of his illustrious 



* Special credit is due to the Rev. Paulist Fathers for giv- 
ing this great work a start. They, in fact, began the Special 
Missions for Non-Catholics, and are zealously engaged in it at 
present. 

Attention is called to ' ' The Catholic Missionary, ' 5 See 
advertisements in this booklet, 



54 



Pontificate by devoting the best energies of his 
now closing brilliant Universal Pastorship to the 
bringing about of Christian Unity ? No one can 
mistake it. His great heart is full of the thought, 
" One Fold and One Shepherd ! n 

Nothing will more effectively promote that 
leading thought and desire of the Saviour ; of the 
Sovereign Pontiff, His Vicar ; and of all truly 
zealous children of our holy Church, than Prayer 
for that purpose. 

Prayer ! Prayer ! Prayer on the lisping lips 
of infants — prayer in maturer years — prayer in 
family devotions — prayer in the public Church 
services ; and all those prayers in unioit with the 
more solemn appeals of the Universal Church — 
but, especially, in union with the Divine Heart's 
Prayer : that all shall hear His voice, and there be 
One Fold and One Shepherd. 

In the closing lines of this pamphlet, what 
more appropriate than the kindliest greetings to 
our non- Catholics, for whom it has been written? 

The writer declares most emphatically — what 
has been, more or less clearly, apparent all along — 
his firm and well-grounded conviction, that outside 
of the Catholic Church there are vast numbers of 
most honest, sincere, and even magnanimously 
courageous men and women who are not Catholic, 
mainly, because they have no adequate knowledge 
of the Church's claims as the True Church of 
Christ ! Such being the case, justice and charity 
demand towards them most heartfelt kindness ! 
Just as we may, and must, be merciful to the sin- 
ner — yea, love him — though we are bound, by 
• every correct principle, to hate and abhor his sin ; 



55 



so, also, in regard to heresy — religious errors and 
those in error ! We cannot, consistently, minimize 
heresy or religious errors ; we cannot tolerate, or, 
in any honeyed words, have the appearance of 
countenancing thern ; but we can have, and really 
have, none except good-will towards those who 
are, unwittingly, in error. 

If one word is found in these pages in conflict 
with this declaration, it is herewith revoked as un- 
intentional. 

What more useful, when this point is well de- 
fined and understood, than to manifest our deepest 
interest in our non-Catholic fellow-citizens, and to 
show it, as practically as possible ! 

The writer hopes that he has done so, to some 
extent, in these unpretentious pages. It w r as, cer- 
tainly, his chief purpose. 



THE CHURCH'S COMMISSION, &c. 

He now begs leave to submit, pointedly, a few 
obvious thoughts on the Church. 

First. — The Divine Redeemer established a 
church — -one church. This He tells us: "Iwill 
build my church " (St. Matt, xvi, 18). He built it 
on Peter: u Upon this rock" (ibidem). He built 
it as became a Divine Builder, indestructible ; "And 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" 
(ibidem). He built it a church with authority ! 

Second. — Its sole right and authority to teach 
rest on its Divine commission: "All power is 
given Me in heaven and in earth. Going, there- 
fore, teach ye all nations : baptizing them in the 



56 



name of the Father and of the Son and of the 
Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever / have commanded you : and behold I 
am with you all days, even to the consummation 
of the world " (St. Matt, xxviii, 18-20). 

Third, — Good non- Catholic friends, weigh 
seriously and well and prayerfully ; and, with 
unprejudiced mind, analyze this commission on 
which the Catholic Church grounds her authority : 
(a) The Saviour proclaims, here, His power in its 
fullness. He is not boasting ! It would be blas- 
phemy to say so ! He refers to His Omnipotence 
as His warrant to commission, (b) The "there- 
fore," following immediately, shows that it was 
.because of His power that He sent them : " Going, 
therefore." (c) It tells who were thus divinely 
sent : u Ye" — the same that He had chosen : "I 
have chosen you " (St. John xv, 16) — the same 
.that He had instructed during nearly three years — 
since their selection as Apostles — the same body to 
whom He had promised the Holy Ghost for specific 
purposes — the same to whom He said : "He that 
heareth you, heareth Me ; and he that despiseth 
you, despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me, 
despiseth Him that sent Me " (St. Luke x, 16); and 
again : " And if he w 7 ill not hear the Church, let 
him be to thee as the heathen and publican " 
(St. Matt, xviii, 17). (d) "Going," or, St. Mark 
(xvi/ 15) says, " Go " — a word of plainest, 
strongest command, (e) See what their (the 
Church's) work is: " Teach all nations," or, as 
St. Mark (xvi, 15) says, "Preach the Gospel to 
every creature." (f) See what they are required 
to teach : "All things whatsoever / have com- 



57 



manded you. n (g) See the extent of the commis- 
sion: "All nations n — its duration " to the end of 
time. n (A) See the guarantee of His presence and 
Almighty protection in their teaching : " Behold, 
/ am with you all days, even to the consummation 
of the world" (St. Matt, xxviii, 20). Can we fail 
to see in this peerless, because divine, commission 
the three essential attributes — Authority, Infalli- 
bility, and Indestructibility — of the Church to 
which the commission was given ? No sane man 
will deny that the commission — with all it im- 
plies — was given to the First Church — to the Old 
Church — the Catholic Church alone ! No sane 
man can hold that a Church thus established, thus 
protected, and thus aided by Him who had all 
pozverin heaven and in earth, could fail, go astray, 
or lead astray ! 

Fourth. — If that is so, what must men using 
their common sense think of that Church needing 
reformation? Reformation of the Almighty God's 
great institution ! Absurd ! yea, blasphemous ! 

Individual members needed, and always will 
need, the reformation of their morals, &c. ; but not 
the Teaching Church, whilst acting in the domain 
of Faith and Morals, as contemplated in her com- 
mission. Had the Corypheus of the religious rev- 
olution of the sixteenth century devoted the same 
energy and zeal to the ameliorating of individual 
morals as he did in the assailing of the orga7iic 
Constitution of the Church, he would have 
deserved the most unstinted praise of the Church 
of God and the blessing of God Himself ! 

Fifth. — If the Church — divinely built, divinely 
sent, and divinely guaranteed — failed, then Christ 



58 



Himself failed. If He failed, He is not God ! 
A vaunt, such contemplations !— subversive of all 
Christianity, and of Christian civilization. 

Sixth. — If reformation, then, implying that 
Christ's Church had gone astray in the teaching 
of Faith and Morals, was absolutely out of ques-' 
tion, did not some men in the sixteenth century, 
make a huge mistake? Are not their followers — 
hugely mistaken and misled — victims uncon- 
sciously, if you will, of the so-called Reformers? 
The saddest and most deplorable mistake ever made 
by man ! 

Seventh. — What non-Catholic of fair intelli- 
gence and ordinary observation can fail to see that 
the Catholic Church, alone, has the four great dis- 
tinguishing marks of the True Church ? She 
alone, apart from the terms of the commission, but 
by virtue of it, is One— all its members agreeing in 
One Faith— all in One. Communion — and all under 
One Head ! She alone is Holy — because her 
Founder, Jesus Christ, is holy ; because she teaches 
a holy and sanctifying moral law, invites all to a 
holy life ; and because of the eminent hostess of so 
many of her children ! She alone is Catholic or 
Universal— because she subsists in all ages, teaches 
all nations, and maintains all truth ! She alone is 
Apostolic — -because founded by Christ on the Apos- 
tles, governed by their legitimate successors, and 
because she has never ceased, and shall never 
cease, to teach their doctrines. 

Vain and futile, and utterly unte7table, then, 
must be any would-be justification of the religious 
rebellion of the sixteenth century, for all reasonable 
and thinking men. 



59 



THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY- 

Cherished non-Catholic friends, the following- 
beautiful tribute of one of England's most gifted 
men, Thomas Babington Macaulay, seems perti- 
nent. He says : — - 

"There is not, and there never was on this 
earth, a work of human policy so well deserving of 
examination as the Roman Catholic Church. The 
history of that Church joins together the two 
great ages of human civilization. No other insti- 
tution is left standing which carries the mind to 
the times when the smoke of sacrifice rose from 
the Pantheon, and when camelopards and tigers 
bounded in the Flavian amphitheatre. The proud- 
est royal houses are but of yesterday when com- 
pared with the line of Supreme Pontiffs. That line 
we trace back in an unbroken series from the Pope 
who crowned Napoleon in the nineteenth century 
to the Pope who crowned Pepin in the eighth, and 
far beyond the time of Pepin the august dynasty 
extends till it is lost in the twilight of fable. The 
Republic of Venice came next in antiquity. But 
the Republic of Venice was modern when compared 
to the Papacy, and the Republic of Venice is gone, 
and the Papacy remains. The Papacy remains, 
not in decay, not a mere antique, but full of life 
and youthful vigor. The Catholic Church is still 
sending forth to the farthest ends of the world 
missionaries as zealous as those who landed in 
Kent with Augustine, and still confronting hostile 
kings with the same spirit with which she con- 
fronted Attila. The number of her children is 
greater than in any former age. Her acquisitions 



6o 

in the New World have more than compensated for 
what she lost in the Old. Her spiritual ascendancy 
extends over the vast countries which lie between 
the plains of the Missouri and Cape Horn, coun- 
tries which, a century hence, may not improbably 
contain a population as large as that which now 
inhabits Europe. The members of her communion 
are certainly not fewer than a hundred and fifty 
millions ;* and it will be difficult to show that other 
Christian sects united amounted to one hundred 
and twenty-five millions. Nor do we see any signs 
which indicate that the term of her long dominion 
is approaching. She saw the commencement of all 
governments and of all ecclesiastical establishments 
that now exist in the world, and we feel no assur- 
ance that she is not destined to see the end of them 
all. She was great and respected before the Saxon 
set foot on Britain, before the Frank had passed 
the Rhine, when Grecian eloquence still flourished 
at Antioch, when idols were still in the temple of 
Mecca. And she may still exist in undiminished 
vigor when some traveler from New Zealand shall, 
in the midst of a great solitude, take his stand on 
a broken arch of London Bridge to sketch the 
ruins of St. Paul." 

And again: u Pour times since the authority 
of the Church of Rome was established on Western 
Christendom has the human intellect risen up 
against her yoke. Twice that Church remained 
completely victorious. Twice she came forth from 
the conflict bearing the marks of cruel wounds, 
but with the principle of life strong in her. When 



* Now nearly 300,000,000. 



6i 

we reflect on the tremendous assaults she has sur- 
vived, we find it difficult to conceive in what w r ay 
she is to perish. n 

If such be the estimate of the renowned histo- 
rian, litterateur, and scholar, Thomas Babington 
Macaulay — surely the Roman Catholic Church may 
well challenge the most respectful consideration, 
and, even, serious study, of all non-Catholic Chris- 
tians. That she asks for and earnestly desires. 
That she has a right to at the hands of all who 
look upon multifarious misrepresentations as crim- 
inally unjust. 



CONCLUSION* 

For that study, any Catholic Priest can indi- 
cate quite a number of books of moderate cost. 
Among them, there probably will be none better 
than the little work entitled u Catholic Belief," by 
Very Rev. Joseph di Bruno, D. D., edited by Rev. 
Dr. L. A. Lambert, author of " Notes on Ingersoll, 5 ' 
— so highly prized by Protestants as well as 
Catholics. 

That the u Kindly Light," so fervently im- 
plored by Cardinal John Henry Newman to lead 
him, may enlighten and lead many into the C4 One 
Fold" under the u One Shepherd" — to the One 
Faith, One Lord, and One Baptism — and to the 
more than blessed fruition of the beatific vision 
promised to all who believe, "He that believeth 
shall be saved n — is the fervent prayer with which 
the writer affectionately dedicates his little pam- 
phlet to all who sincerely desire to know God's 
holy, powerful, and saving Truth. 



62 



LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT. 



L£ad, Kindly Light, amid encircling gloom, 

Lead Thou me on ! 
The night is dark, and I am far from home — 

Lead Thou me on ! 
Keep Thou my feet, I do not ask to see 
The distant scene — one step enough for me. 

I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou 

Shouldst lead me on ; 
. I loved to choose and see my path, but now 

Lead Thou me on ! 
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, 
Pride ruled my will ; remember not past years. 

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still 

Will lead me on, 
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till 

The night is gone ; 
And with the morn those angel faces smile 
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile. 



GE 6, LINE 12, POSITIVE, CAP. P. 

9, " 2. Relatively, small r. 

9, " 7, FAITH AND REASON, CAP F. & R. 

10, " 14 WORD, CAP W. 

10, " 15, TRADITION, CAP T. 

12, " 27, TEMPERANCE, CAP T. 

12, " 27, BENEVOLENT & GUILDS, CAP B. & G. 

12, " 27, ELEMENTARY & EDUCATION, CAP. 

E. and E. 
32, " 20, word, cap W. 

35, " 15, WITHDREW FOR RETIRED. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Introduction 3 

Conversion 5 

Intellect — Cardinal Newman * 7 

1 ' Cardinal Manning 11 

Rev. F. W. Faber 13 

Dr. Orestes A. Brownson 16 

Rt. Rev. Siiliman Ives, D. D 20 

Great Movements 21 

^Esthetics . 22 

A Circumstance 24 

Some Prominent Persons 25 

A Pertinent Incident 29 

Remarks 31 

A Medical Doctor . 33 

Rev. George F. Haskins ..... 34 

A Lady's Conversion 42 

Apposite Reflections 45 

Inconspicuous Conversions . 46 

Appeal 49 

Missions for Non-Catholics 52 

The Church's Commission, &c 55 

T. Babington Macaulay 59 

Conclusion , . . 61 

"Lead, Kindly Light" 62 



PRAYERS AND CEREMONIES 
OF THE MASS 

OR 

MORAL, DOCTRINAL, AND LITURGICAL 
EXPLANATIONS OF THE MASS. 

By Rt. Rkv. JOHN T. SUUJVAN. 
New York : D. & J. SADIylER & CO., 54 Barclay St. 



Note. — This i2tno volume, well bound, 333 pages, with copious 
index, has been reduced in price from $1.50 to 75 cents net. 



MAY BLOSSOMS. 

BY 

LILLIAN. 

Price, ------ $1.00. 

New York and London : G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, The Knickerbocker Press. 

1890. 

This little volume of gems of poetry is truly a marvel ! It 
contains 75 poems by a child ; but, as one of our best magazines 
says, 4 'not at all a collection of childish poetry." The same 
competent judge (The Catholic World) says: "These verses" 
(all composed between the ages of 7 and 13) ' 'are chiefly. de- 
scriptions of the beauties of nature as the child-author saw 
them in field and garden, in the forest and by the seashore, in 
winter and in summer : in praise of her pets — bird, cat, and 
cow, &c. All are readable, singularly correct in there rhythm 
and in the variety of their metrical forms. ' ' 



Conversions 



4 



AND 



GOD'S WAYS AND MEANS 



IN THEM. 



BY 



Rt. Rev. John T. Sullivan. 




PHILADELPHIA, PA. : 
H. I.. KILNER & CO, 

PUBLISHERS. 

1897. 



w 



I 



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